WATCH: ‘Monsoon’ flood rips through Arizona desert region

“How could the desert flood?” Here’s how…

HEAVY RAIN AND flash floods have caused chaos in the usually bone-dry region surrounding the city of Phoenix, Arizona in the last 48 hours.

Helicopter crews were forced to rescue two women and three dogs from a home surrounded by swift-moving waters in a town about 30 miles north of Phoenix.

Elsewhere, a small trailer park was evacuated, a school was flooded and emergency services pulled motorists from partially submerged vehicles.

In another dramatic rescue, authorities pulled an elderly woman from a van stuck in rushing flood waters, a scene repeated across the region throughout the day as other motorists became trapped.

A man stands in the window of a flooded house in New River, Arizona.
Source: AP

Officials said nearly 5 inches of rain fell around the town of New River, where a helicopter dropped two rescuers onto the roof of a home where someone inside had been waving a white piece of fabric from a window to draw attention.

The rescuers later walked the women and dogs to safety as the water receded.

“It’s crazy. You’d think, how could the desert flood, but it really does,” said local woman Kathy Mascaro.

“I’ve never seen it this bad. I’ve been here over 20 years and it has never flooded this bad.”

TheJournal.ie is a full participating member of the Press Council of Ireland and supports
the Office of the Press Ombudsman. This scheme in addition to defending the freedom of the
press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may
have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the
Press Ombudsman Lo-Call 1890 208 080 or go to
www.pressombudsman.ie
or www.presscouncil.ie

Please note that TheJournal.ie uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide services and advertising. For more information on cookies please refer to our cookies policy.

Journal Media does not control and is not responsible for user created content, posts, comments, submissions or preferences. Users are reminded that they are fully responsible for their own created content and their own posts, comments and submissions and fully and effectively warrant and indemnify Journal Media in relation to such content and their ability to make such content, posts, comments and submissions available. Journal Media does not control and is not responsible for the content of external websites.